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The Real Helen Keller

Produced and directed by Liz Crow and Ann Pugh
50 minutes documentary, 2000
A Redweather production
Commissioned by Channel 4
With BSL interpretation and transcript

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About

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was world famous as the little deaf blind girl, the ‘miracle’ child who triumphed over adversity, an image later enshrined by Hollywood in the film The Miracle Worker.

But behind the image was a flesh-and-blood woman, writer and radical activist, suffragette and Socialist, under surveillance by the FBI and in constant struggle against the contradictions of her public image. She was a woman who lived to old age, yet is fixed in the public imagination as an eternal child.

This documentary-biography examines the creation of Keller’s popular image and enduring iconic status and reveals the woman behind the myth.

The Real Helen Keller is produced in spoken English and British Sign Language.

Toronto Disability Film and Culture Festival
Picture This Festival, Canada
Popcorn and a Movie, Access Awareness Association of Calgary

Sweden

Swedish Deaf Film Festival
Dov Film Festival, Stockholm

US

University of Oregon
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
disTHIS, New York
University of California, Los Angeles

Broadcast

Channel Four
UR (Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company)

Credits

The Real Helen Keller

Produced & Directed by
Liz Crow
Ann Pugh

Narrator
Juliet Stevenson

Helen Keller Reader
Laurel Lefkow

Helen Keller played by
Ailsa Fairley

British Sign Language Interpreter
Heather McKerlie

BSL Script Interpretation
Gail McGarva

Camera
John Podpadec

Sound
Paul Baker

Rostrum
Dave Blackman

Editors
Joanna Crickmay
Greg Harris
Bobby Sheikh

Dubbing Mixer
Roland Jones

Production Manager
Frank Spencer

Archive
American Foundation for the Blind
Ann Fagan Ginger
CORBIS
First Run, Icarus Films
Historic Films
The Image Bank, London
Library of Congress
MGM, Clip and Still
Perkins School for the Blind
Radcliffe College

Executive Producer
Michael Darlow

Production
A Redweather Production for Channel Four

Press

At last, a flesh and blood portrayal of Helen Keller. A vivid portrait of a passionate
woman who earned her place on the FBI’s wanted list for her radical views and
political activism. A remarkable documentary with some fascinating material
previously suppressed by the US authorities and the Keller family.

Vertigo independent film magazine

A wry and witty look at the truth beyond the myth. Wonderfully sharp, with
unexpected laugh-out-loud moments.